(A) It is a violation of this division if any person knowingly places sexually explicit material upon public display in any public place through which minors pass or to which they are invited as members of the general public, except that sexually explicit material may be displayed as provided in division (A)(1) of this section.
(1) A business shall not be deemed to place sexually explicit material upon public display in any area through which minors pass or to which they are invited as members of the general public, if the following conditions are met:
(a) The sexually explicit material is placed in racks or on shelves separate from racks, shelves or other sales display cases from other material;
(b) The racks or shelves are located at least 60 inches from floor level and within 8 feet or less of a cash register or similar purchase location;
(c) Those racks or shelves are constructed with a full opaque barrier that shields the sexually explicit material so that only the title of the material or material that is not sexually explicit is visible on the covers but so that the materials may be conveniently removed and perused or inspected, subject to the business’s practices, by persons not minors;
(d) Any of the racks or shelves or portions thereof that contain 1 or more items of sexually explicit material are clearly and continuously visible without obstruction from the cash register or purchase location; and
(e) The cash register or purchase location is tended by a proprietor or employee of the business, which person shall be under a duty to affirmatively and frequently ascertain that minors are not able to and do not peruse, inspect or leaf through sexually explicit materials.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit any other method of removing from minors the opportunity or ability to peruse, inspect or leaf through sexually explicit materials that places materials exclusively under the possession and control of the proprietor or employee of the business until the time of sale of material to a person other than a minor.
(1988 Code, § 13-90)
(B) It shall be a defense to division (A) that:
(1) A minor possessing or handling sexually explicit materials is at the time under parental or parentally-approved adult supervision;
(2) That the proprietor or other employee of the business made a bona fide, good faith effort to determine the minor’s age and had reasonable grounds to believe the minor was over 18 years of age.
(1988 Code, § 13-91) Penalty, § 10.99